Though Mandow, WWE’s beloved equivalent of a chameleon, and Axel, a Hulkster-mimicking former Intercontinental Champion, are no strangers to reinvention, forging their powers against Konnor & Viktor ultimately proved futile.

The retro-charged throwback to the ’80s super-tandem seemed to present a promising assault on their opponents at the start of the action, melding a flashy combination of their own technique with that of the WWE Hall of Famers they emulated. However, the vicious combination of brute force and lethal precision from the former NXT Tag Team Champions ultimately stomped out their efforts — first by hurling Mandow off the top rope as he geared up for a “Macho Man” Elbow Drop, then laying the contest to rest with the Fall of Man.

The explosive Tag Team Match and the rest of WWE Payback Kickoff aired live on the award-winning WWE Network and streams for free on WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and Pheed.

Though Mandow, WWE’s beloved equivalent of a chameleon, and Axel, a Hulkster-mimicking former Intercontinental Champion, are no strangers to reinvention, forging their powers against Konnor & Viktor ultimately proved futile.

The retro-charged throwback to the ’80s super-tandem seemed to present a promising assault on their opponents at the start of the action, melding a flashy combination of their own technique with that of the WWE Hall of Famers they emulated. However, the vicious combination of brute force and lethal precision from the former NXT Tag Team Champions ultimately stomped out their efforts — first by hurling Mandow off the top rope as he geared up for a “Macho Man” Elbow Drop, then laying the contest to rest with the Fall of Man.

The explosive Tag Team Match and the rest of WWE Payback Kickoff aired live on the award-winning WWE Network and streams for free on WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and Pheed.